About

Photo credit: SCAD Photography

 

My name is Kim Goings and Terra Quilting Co. is my textile studio practice. I am a New York-based textile artist specializing in quilting, repurposing, and upcycling to create functional heirlooms and art pieces. When creating quilts, I focus on renewing the life of secondhand textiles using natural dyes and patchwork techniques.

As someone who has always been drawn to the art of handmade and gifting handmade, it is my passion to create meaningful pieces imbued with personal history, memories, stories and emotion. My work is influenced by a range of subjects including nature, contemporary and traditional American quilts, as well as intuitive and spontaneous creativity, journaling, sketching, collage and self-discovery. 

Though largely self-taught as a quilter, my arts education includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Arts in Production Design from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). My career with textiles started with costumes and wardrobe in New York's film and theater industries. With my growing collection of excess fabric and thrifted clothing, I began repurposing remnants into quilts. In 2022, I was accepted into SCAD's Alumni Atelier artist residency in Provence, South of France for the summer. There, I created a textile art collection inspired by the landscape and lifestyle of Provence, a place that has held a piece of my heart since studying abroad at SCAD Lacoste when I was an undergraduate. Some of the pieces created in Provence are included below. 

 

	Photo credit: SCAD Photography

 

About Terra Quilting Co.

The word 'terra' translates to 'earth' or 'land.'  I prefer to connect with textiles that have a previous history and I use the slow craft of quilting to observe the constant yet ever-changing seasons of nature as a metaphor for the transformations that occur throughout life. To me, a quilt represents comfort, memory, and love in layers that can be patched, mended and passed on to the next generation for years to come.

My personal history and education in the arts has allowed my textile practice to evolve over time, considering fabric as paint, thread as pencil and the quilt as a canvas for visual storytelling. Historically, women quiltmakers were often under-valued but incredibly philosophical and talented artists, telling stories within their quilts about people, religion, and sometimes revealing a dark or macabre sense of humor. Learning more about quilting history has inspired me to push myself and play with color palette, natural dyeing, and hand-sewing to convey my thoughts and ideas.

All Terra Quilting Co. original pieces are sewn and hand-quilted by me in New York, or during my travels. My tasks include, but are not limited to, designing, sourcing, pattern-writing, natural dyeing, patchwork, machine and hand-sewing, quilting, photographing, creating social media content, website management, shipping, and communication. It is a lot of work but this also means that you know exactly who made everything in this shop. I so appreciate every visit to my Instagram and website, and every purchase supports my small handmade business as well as my continuation as an independent artist.

 

Photo credit: SCAD Photography